


The Heart of the Village

by Aishuu



Series: The Reluctant Hokage [6]
Category: Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Family, Gen, The Livejournal exodus, gritty ninja world, the price of ruling
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-08
Updated: 2014-10-08
Packaged: 2018-02-20 09:56:52
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2424452
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aishuu/pseuds/Aishuu
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shisui returns home from a mission to find things going wrong for his cousin.  All Hokage have failures, and Itachi has the first of his rule.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Heart of the Village

**Author's Note:**

> Here's where my refusal to acknowledge the last couple of years of the manga starts to really show. Shisui is not as he appears later in the manga. My Shisui characterization bears a dramatic resemblance to ronsard's Shisui. This is not a coincidence. <3 Much love to her for letting me use some of her Shisui characterization and background. Please note Shisui/Itachi will not be a pairing in this series, but given Shisui's personality, you can bring your own subtext if you so choose.

Itachi's honeymoon period as Hokage lasts exactly 98 days.   
  
Shisui knows this because there's a counting board in the mission room that cheerfully proclaims "It's been XXX days since Konoha's Last Mission-Related Fatality," much like a civilian business might use to inspire its workers to better safety standards. The board is on Day 128 (and the last mission-related fatality under Sandaime's second reign was a month to the day before Itachi took the hat) before word comes about a mission gone south.  
  
It's the same old, same old. A chuunin team had been caught unaware by an S-Class missing nin and been torn apart, leaving two dead and one hideously crippled. The last member of the team – and the only woman among them – had walked away without too much physical damage, but immediately required the attention of the Yamanaka clan upon returning to the village. It could only mean one thing – she'd been raped or worse, and the mental damage she'd suffered had been horrid.  
  
Shisui, just returning from his own successful mission, happens to be in the room as Umino Iruka reluctantly flips the counting board back to zero. There's unshed tears in the chuunin's eyes, but Shisui isn't foolish enough to think he's weak. Iruka is still able to care, which makes him something special.  
  
"I'm going to see him," he tells Iruka, preventing the chuunin from having to ask.  
  
Iruka gives a jerky nod of his head. Once upon a time, he'd been Itachi's genin teammate, but time and rank had created a chasm too deep to be easily crossed.  
  
That's one of Itachi's many, many problems, in Shisui's not-so-humble opinion. The position of Hokage might be a vaunted one, but it's also incredibly isolated. Itachi has always been a loner, but even he needs some social contact. Since his old comrades, like Iruka, aren't able to provide companionship, and he's alienated most of his clan by renouncing his name (which Shisui doesn't _get_ , but doesn't hold against Itachi unlike almost everyone else), that leaves very few options for Itachi.  
  
Shisui, of course, is always going to be the first option. He doesn't care what his family will say about him, since he's never been that popular with his clan, anyway. His father had a falling out with Fugaku's father before Shisui was even born, and though his father's been in a grave for over a decade, the clan hasn't forgiven him. If there's one thing the Uchiha know how to do – aside from produce prodigious shinobi talent on a regular basis – it's hold a grudge until it dies, then stuff it and mount it on the wall.  
  
Shisui had left for his mission right after Itachi took the Funny Hat, so he hasn't really had a chance to make things clear where he stood. Now is as good a time as any.  
  
There are more guards on the Hokage tower than in the past, Shisui notes as he arrives and checks in. While it would be a heck of a lot of fun to sneak through, just to mess with the guards, Shisui knows that it would be a bad idea to do that today. Mentally he makes a note to explore the option in the future.  
  
Even though he's family – maybe _especially because_ \- Shisui has to wait for a chuunin assistant to get permission from Itachi to let him in. Cooling his heels isn't a favorite thing, and the surroundings of the waiting room haven't changed at all during the regime change, which Shisui thinks is lame. That is another thing to mention to Itachi when the moment is right. What's the use of having power if it wasn't going to be abused a little?  
  
"Heya, little cous!" he chirps cheerfully as he pushed his way passed the chuunin as soon as the door opens to him. Technically he should wait for Itachi to say "enter," but Shisui figures it's better to not exploit Itachi's verbiage. Shisui suspects Itachi has a mental restriction on his daily word allowance, so it's best not to waste them on trivial things like manners.  
  
Itachi's sitting behind the desk, dressed in clothing that resembles the ANBU uniform, only in midnight blue. The Hat (and it deserves the capitalization) is hung neatly on a hook next to Itachi, but there's no sign of the white and red robes of his position. Sandaime had worn them all the times, but Itachi isn't copying his predecessor's precedent. Shisui always thought the style was a hazard to reflexes, but Itachi's not the type to trip over his own feet. He could be dressed as a Suna mummy and still be his usual graceful self.

It would be a fun thought to test. Maybe Shisui can figure out some way to arrange it.  
  
Right now, though, Itachi remains still, exercising that unflappable calm that drives Shisui crazy (well, it would if Shisui wasn't already certifiable by most standards). Despite what must have been a trying day, Itachi is perfectly poised and presented and the only reason Shisui recognizes how upset Itachi is is because Shisui's spent over a decade learning to read his cousin. Everyone else may see the strong Hokage, but Shisui sees a burdened teenager.  
  
The chuunin isn't stupid enough to try to physically drag Shisui away, but he's yammering apologies at Itachi and promising to call the ANBU to deal with Shisui's rudeness.  
  
"That won't be necessary," Itachi says. "Please shut the door so I can speak privately to my cousin."  
  
The chuunin's face goes still, and he bows briefly before exiting the door, closing the door behind him with exquisite care. "Man, he's annoyed," Shisui comments. "You need to get staff that's better at hiding their feelings."  
  
"He's still a chuunin for a reason," Itachi replies. "Are you here to deliver your mission report?"  
  
"Right to business? No small talk?" Shisui asks. "Being Hokage really hasn't helped your social skills."  
  
"According to you, I never had social skills to start with. Your report?"  
  
"Finished the mission, killed the bastards and protected the princess while I was at it. Same old, same old." Shisui waves a hand in the air, dismissing the report as unimportant. "I wanted to see how you were doing."  
  
Itachi opens his mouth, and even before he speaks, Shisui knows his cousin isn't going to be honest. Itachi isn't dumb enough to think he can lie to Shisui, but he isn't above not admitting what he is really thinking. It is a fine line, but one that shinobi walk regularly, especially one like the Hokage. "It's a challenge to learn the position," he says simply.  
  
"Bullshit. You've been working with Sandaime for three years, so your brilliant genius mind knows the position. You just lost your first team," Shisui says, before hopping onto the desk, crouching down so he can look Itachi in the face. His muddy shoes are on top of a couple of papers, but Shisui has never cared about paperwork. "Since I know you, I know you're beating the crap out of yourself on the inside, and you're never going to admit it."  
  
Itachi picks up a brush, and for a second Shisui wonders if it is going to get jammed through his foot. It would be difficult to do, but Itachi is Hokage for a reason. "Can you get off my paperwork?" he asks politely instead.  
  
Well, yes, he can. Shisui slides off the desk and onto his cousin's lap, never one to do things as expected or by half measure. He wraps his arms around his cousin's neck, pushing Itachi's face against his shoulder. "The Hokage is the heart of the village, and it's okay for that heart to feel pain."  
  
There is a slight thump as the brush slips from Itachi's fingers and hits the floor. For a second, Shisui entertains the idea that Itachi might actually cry, but this is his cousin the ice cube. Itachi doesn't believe in emotional displays, but it is telling that Shisui doesn't find himself on the floor with a kunai at his throat.  
  
"I shouldn't have sent chuunin on that mission," Itachi murmurs softly against Shisui's shoulder. "I should have ranked it higher and made sure jounin went."  
  
"You can't be second-guessing yourself all the time, little cous," Shisui replies, rubbing his hand over Itachi's head, much like he had when they'd been much younger and Itachi had suffered from nightmares. Itachi's dark hair feels soft under his fingers... that is until Shisui finds himself on the floor, with Itachi standing next to the window. Shisui's reflexes are fast, but he hadn't even registered Itachi's movement until after it had happened.  
  
There is a reason Itachi is Hokage.  
  
"I should have known," Itachi says, looking out the window. "It's my job as Hokage to evaluate things accurately, and it was my failure that resulted in their deaths."  
  
Shisui almost points out that they hadn't all died, but that won't help things. The woman is as good as dead to the Hokage, since her mental trauma will likely prevent her from ever taking another mission, and the cripple is in the same boat. "You can't be perfect," Shisui says. "I know you well enough to realize you made the best judgment with the facts you had at hand."  
  
"And it killed them."  
  
Many people would have been tempted not to let Itachi assume the blame, but Shisui isn't one of them. The Hokage is the final authority in the village, and part of the job includes carrying responsibility for when something goes wrong. It is time to deliver a bit of home truth.   
  
"It's not going to be the last time this happens. The orders you give will probably kill me one day," Shisui says, before amending his thought a bit. "Well, they'll put me in a situation where I can't save myself. And I'm not going to blame you when that happens, since I know you'll try your best to keep that from happening. But I'm not likely to reach my thirtieth birthday because this is a dangerous job, and I made the decision to do it."  
  
Itachi's hand goes to the windowsill in a casual movement, but Shisui suspects he is bracing himself. "I didn't even know them, not really," Itachi states. "How can I send you on missions when it hurts so much to lose people I don't even know? And Sasuke will be testing for Genin next year..."  
  
That is the source of Itachi's discontent. Itachi loves the village and the people that comprise it, but he will always think of his brother first. When it comes down to it, Shisui realizes nothing is more important to Itachi than Sasuke – even Shisui himself. Shisui understands that, although he sometimes is a bit jealous of the brat.  
  
"You're going to have to send him on missions, too. Sasuke won't thank you if you try to coddle him," Shisui says. "You can't protect him from the cost of living his life."  
  
"I know."   
  
Shisui pulls himself up from the floor, using the edge of the desk as leverage. His rump still stings from his sudden fall, but it is the least of the wounds Itachi has intentionally or unintentionally inflicted on him. His cousin might be a gentle soul, but being around him is hazardous to Shisui's physical and mental health.  
  
Shisui sits himself in the Hokage's chair, grateful that he hadn't been the one chosen as Hokage. There are no platitudes Shisui can offer to make things better for his cousin, nothing he can do to provide Itachi comfort or reassurance that he is doing the right thing. All Shisui can do is offer his presence, and give Itachi forgiveness for his inevitable role in Shisui's probable demise. It will have to be enough.  
  
Itachi still has his back to Shisui, which is fine. There is no greater sign of trust, and Shisui isn't about to overlook it. No matter what happens, Shisui will always have Itachi's back until the day he dies.


End file.
